


a world away

by raspberriesoda



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angel!Au, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:42:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26744569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raspberriesoda/pseuds/raspberriesoda
Summary: jeno never meant to fall in love with jaemin, but he'd move heaven and hell to make jaemin happy.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Nomin - Relationship
Comments: 3
Kudos: 37





	a world away

He hadn’t expected to end up here. He really wasn’t supposed to be here. None of this was ever supposed to happen.

But, how could he have not fallen in love with Jaemin?

The way that Jaemin snorts when he laughs too hard at something he knows isn’t really that funny. The pout he cutely displays when his friends won’t give him his way. The little noises he makes in his sleep when he’s dreaming. The way that he turns his music up way too loud when he drives by himself. The way that he almost always trips on the crack in the sidewalk right outside his apartment building, despite living there long enough to be mindful of it.

Jeno thinks about it more and more day by day; not that he even pays mind to the passage of time anymore. He knows he was doomed from the start. There was no way not to fall in love with him.

But, instead of the lighthearted feeling that comes hand in hand with love, Jeno feels a weight. In any other circumstance he’d likely be considered a stalker by the way he knows every little thing about Jaemin, but it's his obligation. Jeno’s sole task is to watch over him, to keep him safe, to make Jaemin his number one priority above all else.

Jaemin isn’t supposed to know. He's supposed to be blissfully unaware of Jeno’s existence and his presence in his life, as well as any others like him.

And Jeno was never supposed to fall in love.

Lately- and he couldn’t tell if it was on purpose- Jeno had become admittedly sloppy with keeping a safe enough distance from Jaemin. He knows it’s no excuse, but Jaemin had been struggling, and Jeno hated to see it. He had to try his best to lift Jaemin up. Wasn’t his purpose to keep him safe? He’s just fulfilling his duties, right?

Like now, Jeno stands on Jaemin’s balcony, three floors up, three hours past midnight. He knows how much of a risk it is, but he’s willing to take it just to see Jaemin’s surprised, sleepy little smile early the next morning when he steps out to check on his favorite flowers and notices they’ve bloomed way ahead of schedule. Little does he know it’s from the love for him in Jeno’s heart.

As Jeno tends to the soft peach tinted petals, Jaemin sits inside atop his kitchen counter, sipping peach flavored tea and watching old cartoons on his computer. He couldn’t sleep, and tossing and turning in bed was finally out of the question after so many hours of dreamless silence.

Jaemin’s bare feet make a soft thump on the kitchen tiles when he uncrosses his legs and leaps from the counter, making his way to grab more honey for his tea. The sound makes Jeno freeze. He should’ve known Jaemin was awake. He should’ve at least checked. But he didn’t.

Jeno takes another bud in his hands and watches as it spreads open right before his eyes at his soft touch, and with the wake of this last flower, he decides he should depart before Jaemin has the chance to notice he’s there. He turns, preparing to hop the banister, but he bumps the patio table, sending a pot of dirt falling to the wood below. It shatters, and Jeno stills once more.

Jaemin almost drops the honey jar at the unexpected calamity. A few moments pass. Jeno stoops to try and clean the mess he’s made, making certain to be silent and quick before Jaemin arrives to investigate. After his mind has time to form a theory that doesn’t involve something from a horror film, Jaemin comes to the conclusion that it must have been the wind moving a small plant. He rounds the counter to pull open the curtain draped glass doors, and what he sees makes him think that maybe he had fallen asleep earlier after all.

Jeno looks up, stunned, frigid, like he’s been caught committing a crime- and it likely would be in any other set of means. Jaemin’s urge to cry out is suppressed by the peculiar calm feeling that settles over him the moment his eyes lock with Jeno’s. Even in the shadows the strange boy’s eyes twinkle, and any thought of ill intent is sent away as quickly as it came. Jaemin’s brain has no time to question the unusual level headedness he feels before he starts to connect the pieces.

Weirdly, he recognizes him, but his mind blanks when he tries recalling from where. Though, he really figured that he’d remember something like this if he’d seen it before. It takes Jeno standing, letting the soft starlight paint his nervous face and shimmering wings for Jaemin to be able to connect his face to any sort of tangible memory.

He’d never actually known his name, or from where he came, but he did know of him. The boy he’d spotted leaving the cafe after the barista had told him that his coffee was already paid for on the morning he was running late. The boy he’d seen scanning shelves in the campus library when he saw his favorite novel sat next to his course work upon returning from the counter to ask if they had it in yet.

Other instances began to surface in Jaemin’s mind the longer he studied him. The closed window and extra blanket the night he’d accidentally fallen asleep before a bad storm. The fresh milk in his fridge he could’ve sworn he’d forgotten to pick up from the market. His favorite white sweater miraculously being completely unharmed after a pink sock snuck its way into the wash.

‘What an angel’ he’d always said to himself when he’d see him. He never would’ve guessed he was right.

When Jeno finally snaps out of his trance, remembering the predicament he’s gotten himself into, he turns to really leave before he lands himself in any more trouble. He spreads his huge white wings, the ones that had always been hidden when Jaemin was near, and flaps them once to lift himself into the air, a gust of chilled wind fluttering Jaemin’s pajamas.

Before Jeno can get too far, and before Jaemin can think of something less hazardous, he runs forward and hoists himself up on the railing to grab Jeno’s ankle in an attempt to stop him from fleeing. At that same moment Jeno flaps his wings again, not thinking that the sudden weight on his leg could be Jaemin, and as a result he’s pulled from the rail and out into the open, three stories above solid ground.

A yelp jumps from Jaemin’s throat as his grip rapidly begins to slip from Jeno’s body. His mind races at the realization that this could very well be the end; in an instant he feels the cold night wind rushing up around him, fluttering his hair, blurring the buildings around him and his breath is caught in his lungs as all he can do is fall. But just as soon as it happened he collapses into Jeno’s open arms with an ‘oomph’ when he catches him before he can meet any harm. Jaemin immediately clings to Jeno and squeezes his eyes shut. A few fearful tears threaten to spill down his cheeks and the height makes him dizzy. He's shivering as Jeno lifts them both up to the balcony once again.

It’s bittersweet for Jeno to see Jaemin this close. He’s stunningly beautiful, more so than Jeno could ever imagine. Jaemin’s eyes finally open to meet Jeno’s when he feels himself safely sitting on his balcony, curled up under Jeno’s kneeling figure, and Jeno’s heart grows wings of its own to soar through his chest. Jaemin’s honey colored face glows in the moonlight. Jeno gulps; he may be the angel, but Jaemin is angelic.

A very nervous laugh bubbles out of Jaemin, his cheeks blooming with a deep red at the sudden realization of their very close proximity to one another. One of Jaemin’s arms still drapes around the back of Jeno’s neck, the other hand pressed to his chest, revealing Jeno’s rapid heartbeat that matches his. Jeno’s arms are still wrapped around Jaemin’s waist. He never wants to let go.

“I-mh,” Jaemin stutters a bit, and gulps. “I’m sorry,” he finally speaks, his voice much breathier than he’d wanted it to come out. Jeno’s features are sharp, but his expression is soft. Jaemin has never seen anything like him. His heart hammers harder the longer he looks at him.

Jeno smiles shyly at Jaemin’s soft tone. “Its okay.”

“Um, I’m Jaemin.” Jeno nods, grinning. Only then does Jaemin realize he most likely knows this already, and he smiles nervously, letting his gaze move down and away from Jeno’s. As Jaemin relaxes a bit, Jeno feels his fingers brush delicately against the indents Jaemin had made on his shoulders; Jaemin's grip is softer now, but no less fervent.

“I'm Jeno,” he tells him. Jaemin looks up at him again, admiring his shining brown eyes and heartfelt smile.

“Thank you, Jeno.”

A second of frozen time passes, and in a sudden surge of bravery, Jaemin leans forward to connect their lips in a kiss. Jeno’s heart stops for a moment, feathers standing and eyes wide, utterly overwhelmed with the cordial feeling of the boy he loves so suddenly embracing him. 

But Jeno wastes no time in reaching up to gently cup Jaemin’s cheek, turning his head to let the kiss deepen. His eyes flutter closed and his wings relax, and the sigh he lets out sends hot air onto the peaks of Jaemin's already blushing cheeks, making him melt. Jaemin can’t tell if the warmth that spreads through him as their lips move in perfect sync is from Jeno’s celestial form, but he’s never felt such a rush from just a single kiss.

But it’s not otherworldly, because Jeno feels it, too.

Jaemin still feels warm and happy, even after Jeno pulls away. Even after Jeno stands him up and bids him a bittersweet farewell, and Jaemin snuggles back into bed, drifting off to a serene sleep filled with dreams of his guardian angel.

The next morning, Jaemin awakens to his unfinished tea from the night before, still hot, placed perfectly next to his newly blossomed flowers and a small note. It's addressed to him with words of love and a promise of a return, despite being a world away.


End file.
